Costi Cohen recently spoke with Yosh Mendis, Head of Agency NSW and Partner at Burgess Rawson, about the current commercial property market. Yosh specialises in the sale of blue-ribbon commercial investment property and is recognised as one of Sydney’s most renowned commercial agents. He has sold some of Australia’s most sought-after commercial investment property and has worked closely with Costi Cohen on many deals over the years.
How long have you been in agency and what do you enjoy most about your role?
“I’ve been in agency for over 10 years. For me, what I love most is that every day is different, each day you’re dealing with like-minded individuals with a love for property and get to work with interesting clients and successful investors.”
What are you seeing in the current market as opposed to 12 months ago, and has there been an increase in investor activity?
“What we’re seeing at the moment is a continued shift to flight to quality. There is certainly strong demand for blue-chip investment product and a defined shift in investor mentality to really push for good quality commercial investment assets which provide a high level of security and stability. Buyers are finding this in those commercial assets with blue-chip tenant covenants, which are often national, global or ASX listed operators. We continue to deal with a lot of domestic investors, but have also recently transacted on several properties to offshore capital. We are currently seeing strong activity from both segments of the market.”
What has been a highlight sale of yours recently?
“A highlight sale of mine this year would be the Robina Central Shopping Centre we just sold last month for $34,000,000 on a 5% yield. This asset was anchored by Aldi, Ampol, Guzman y Gomez, Starbucks and MedCentres with a 13-year WALE. This was a very rare opportunity to replicate, with the asset underpinned by strong underlying land value, maximum depreciation benefits and an exceptional tenancy profile with majority of the income secured by national, ASX listed and global tenant covenants which goes back to my point about the demand for these blue-chip opportunities. They provide outstanding long term income security, tax depreciation benefits, and future capital appreciation.”
What are some tips for commercial buyers and what should investors look out for?
“I think the biggest one is to really understand what you’re looking for from the outset. It’s important to define your requirements as much as possible so when you’re in the market, you can know quickly if a commercial opportunity will work for you or not and be able to jump at the right opportunity when it comes around. We see a number of great investment opportunities which often provide great value-add or passive investment fundamentals. Understanding exactly what you are looking for can really narrow down your search and will make the process a lot easier to find your ideal property.”
